


The Family Job

by ellievengeance



Category: Leverage
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Fatherhood, Flashbacks, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Multi, Secret Children, Secret Relationship, fractured timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-10-03 03:52:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10235264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellievengeance/pseuds/ellievengeance
Summary: Eliot Spencer is a private man with many secrets. One day, one of those secrets shows up in his brew pub telling him another one of his secrets is missing, and Eliot is the only one who can get it back.





	1. A New Client

**Author's Note:**

> My best friend got me hooked on Leverage and Eliot crawled his way into my brain and won't get out. So here's a story that's totally self-indulgent, slightly based off of real people, and gives Eliot some of the focus I think he deserves. I'll update warnings and tags as I go. So enjoy my exploration of the Secret Life Of Eliot Spencer.

“Uh, Mr. Spencer,” Amy peeked her head around the corner of the wall separating the Brew Pub’s dining area from the kitchen, “There’s, uh, there’s someone here to see you.”

 

“A’ight,” Eliot put down the knife he was holding and passed the prep work off to one of the sous chefs, “And Amy?”

 

“Yes?” 

 

“It’s Eliot,” he smirked at Amy and wiped off his hands, causing the girl to go wide eyed, nod and scurry away. He chuckled and walked out into the dining area, making a quick sweep of the room, checking his exits and scanning for any possible threats. When he was satisfied with his assessment of no immediate threats, he looked back over the crowd for someone familiar enough to ask for him by name. There were a few regulars, people in enough for him to have met, but not people who would ask after him by name. There was one man who sat in the booth Parker normally used to greet clients, but Parker hadn’t mentioned anything about meeting a new client today, and they’d normally ask after her, not him. About halfway through his second scan of the room, one of the diner’s put down her hood and his eyes caught on a distinctive mass of red curls that should never,  _ ever  _ be here. 

 

He stormed over to the table and slapped his palm on the polished wood surface, “Dammit Eleanor, what are you doing here?”

 

The woman jumped and squeaked before looking up at him, her icy blue eyes wide, “Full name, huh? I  _ must _ be in trouble.”

 

Eliot narrowed his eyes at her, “I asked you a question,  _ Ellie _ .”

 

She looked around the room nervously, “Is this the best place to do this? People are staring.”

 

Eliot glanced up to see that he had, in fact, drawn a bit of attention. He sighed and motioned for her to follow him. She scrambled to grab her purse and out of habit Eliot grabbed the duffle at her feet, “Planning on being here a while, are ya?”

 

Ellie just shoved at his shoulder, “Just lead the way, jackass.”

 

Eliot rolled his eyes, placed a hand at the small of her back and led her back to the offices. He opened the door for her and thanked God for small favors when he found the briefing room still empty. He steered his guest toward the couch and directed her to sit. He dropped the duffel and stood in front of her, his arms crossed, taking a stance he knew from experience to be intimidating, praying that for once it would work on the woman before him.

 

“Talk.”

 

Ellie opened her mouth, then closed it. Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip. Eliot knew that look. He knew she was trying to figure out the best way to say whatever was on her mind, something that also let him know he wasn’t going to like whatever came next. It was a look he’d seen on her twice before, and filled his gut with a sense of dread that he had to make sure didn’t show on his face. 

 

“Scarlett’s been kidnapped,” She blurted, shaking her head, her eyes tearing up, “They haven’t asked for a ransom or anything… I got a call a six hours ago, but all they told me is that they would only deal with Eliot Spencer… And that he had 48 hours to contact them.”

 

Eliot’s nostrils flared and he took a deep breath. He counted to ten, clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to keep a lid on his anger, “And…” his voice had dropped an octave and suddenly felt thick and rusty, “What about…”

 

“She’s safe,” Ellie sniffed and gave him a small half smile, “She’s uh…” Ellie bit her lip again, “Well, she’s hiding by the Dumpster, waiting for me to give her the all clear.”

 

“Dammit, Ellie,” Eliot growled and stormed off towards the door that led into the back alley, Ellie hot on his tail.

 

“I made sure she was in full view of a camera. I’m doing the best I can,” the sound of desperation in Ellie’s voice brought back memories he didn’t want to surface right now, “I had to bring her, I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”

 

Eliot froze with his hand on the doorknob, already having used the pin pad to unlock the door, “But you still trust me, huh?”

 

Ellie gave him that sad little half smile that he swore was reserved solely for him, “You’re the only one who’s never let me down. I had to see you before I brought her in… Had to make sure you were really here.”

 

Eliot closed his eyes for a second, taking another breath before throwing the door open and rushing into the alley. The ground was still wet from that day’s earlier rain, causing his boots to make a very loud and sharp thud with every determined footstep he took. He made quick work of rounding the corner and couldn’t help but break out into a run when he eyed the top of a mass of curly, chestnut brown hair wedged between a pole and the Dumpster, hidden from view in the street, but in clear view of the back door and two cameras in the alley. 

 

The little girl heard him coming and whipped her head around, going wide eyed and smiling when she saw who was running towards her. She stood up and began rushing towards him in turn, her arms held wide, a pale blue comfort blanket in one hand and a well-loved stuffed wolf in the other. He easily scooped the toddler into his arms and held her tight to his chest.

 

“Hey there, lil’ angel, Daddy’s gotcha now,” he murmured into her hair as he held her close, closing his eyes and kissing her forehead as the girl snuggled right into his shoulder,wrapping her tiny arms as far around his neck as she could.

 

“I know I shouldn’t have brought her,” Ellie said from behind him as she caught up, “But everyone I could have left her with…”

 

“Woulda had a connection back to me anyway,” Eliot turned to take a good look at the mother of the child in his arms. Her curly red hair was frizzing up from the wet air, her eyeliner was smudged from crying and obviously a day old, her clothes wrinkled and unmatched. He held his daughter in one arm and pulled Ellie in for a one armed hug as she let her tears silently fall, “I know. I’ve got you, darlin’.”

 

Ellie nodded into his chest, “I need her back, Eliot.”

 

This time Eliot kissed a mop of red curls instead of his daughter’s brown, “We’ll get her, but we ain’t doing any good out here. Let’s get back inside.”

 

Ellie nodded and stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes, allowing him to lead them back into the brew pub’s back offices.

 

“Hey Eliot, Amy told me there was somebody lookin’ for ya,” Hardison’s voice called out to Eliot as he led his little group inside, “You find us another client?”

 

Eliot let the door close, looking down at Ellie and his daughter, taking a moment before he went in to face his crew, the other half of his family, steeling himself for their reactions. Ellie just nodded at him and gently squeezed his arm, silently giving her approval for him to reveal their presence. Eliot took a deep breath, using the moment to think of the best way to approach dropping this secret on his best friends. He looked down at his little girl, watching him with eyes that matched his own, but full of trust and innocence, and decided to just rip off the proverbial bandaid, walking into the main area as if nothing was different from any other job briefing.

 

As he walked in, Hardison was leaning against the counter, waiting for his answer, and Parker was sitting on the counter next to him, eating a bowl of what looked to be cocoa puffs. Hardison wore his signature smirk, his arms crossed against his chest, until he saw Eliot and his grin fell into a confused frown.

 

“Uh…” Hardison began, “Eliot… Do you know you holding a baby?”

 

Eliot just walked up and pulled out the chair next to Parker and offered it to Ellie, who gladly took it, “Yeah. This is Ellie,” he placed his hand on her shoulder, then motioned to the girl in his arms, “And this little lady is Ellie’s daughter, Mika. They’ve got a job for us, if you’re willing,” he looked at Ellie for a second, “I’m takin’ it regardless, but your backup would be appreciated.”

 

Parker quirked her head to the side, but Hardison was the one who answered, “Man, you know we got your back,” He held his hand out to Ellie, “My name’s Hardison, this is my girl Parker, nice to meet ya’ll,” she shook his hand, and Parker just ignored them to stare at Eliot, so Hardison continued, “What’s the job?”

 

Ellie cleared her throat, “My daughter, uh, my first born, Scarlett Inara Wallace,” at her words Hardison grabbed his keyboard and began typing, pulling up a photo of the redheaded girl eerily quick, “She was kidnapped yesterday while she was shopping with her aunt,” when Eliot raised an eyebrow she elaborated, “Her aunt is fine, Scarlett had run to the bathroom and just never came back.”

 

Hardison nodded, “Okay. Scarlett Wallace. Age nine. Granddaughter of billionaire Milo Wallace,” a pictures began popping up as Hardison rattled off the missing girl’s backstory, “Sole child of his son Alexander...” Hardison grimaced and looked at Ellie when an image of a man with dark hair and bright blue eyes with his arm around a younger Ellie popped up on the screen.

 

“Who passed on two years ago,” she finished for him, “It’s okay, you can say it. I won’t get offended, go on.” 

 

Hardison nodded solemnly and continued, “Right. And she gets half of his inheritance when she turns twenty-one, the other half went to her mother… Eleanor Marie Warren, which I’m guessing is your full name?” he looked at Ellie and she nodded in confirmation, “Right, so it could be a money thing,” Hardison was tapping away and scanning through articles, barely even paying attention to them at this point, “Or it could be a play at some of the companies, tech, and patents Grandpa Wallace owns. Have the kidnappers made contact yet?”

 

“Well,” Ellie cut a side glance to Eliot, “That's why I'm here…”

 

Eliot chose to cut in, “I’m Scarlett’s godfather and it seems the kidnappers figured this out and will only communicate with me.”

 

“Well,” Ellie cut in, “All we know, is that they know, that you know us,” she made a face at her own statement, “If that makes any sense. They never mentioned anything about you being her godfather.”

 

Eliot raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged, “What? We are connected by more than just that, Eliot. I just don’t think we should jump to any assumptions.”

 

“Like?” Hardison asked. When Eliot glared at him he added, “What? We need all the information, man, you know how it goes. Devil’s in the details, baby.”

 

“Like the fact that Mika is Eliot’s daughter?” Parker finally cut in, staring at Eliot.

 

“Whoa… wait… what?” Hardison looked back and forth between Parker and Eliot, “How do you know that and I don’t?”

 

It was actually Ellie who answered, ”Oh please, she’s like his clone,” she said with a snort, “It’s partly why none of you have ever met us.”

 

Hardison was now intently looking at Eliot and Mika, making the little girl squirm uncomfortably and hide her face in her father’s shoulder. Eliot placed his hand on the back of her head, gently kissing on her forehead to settle her. He sighed.

 

“Ellie, Scarlett’s father, Alex, and I all go way back,” he explained, “Alex’s older brother, Adam, was into some bad stuff when he was younger, messed with the wrong people and Alex got kidnapped because of it,” Eliot sighed, “I was sent in to retrieve him... It was my first retrieval and, well... Me and the kid got out… by the seat of our pants, but we made it. After that, Adam ended up joining the Army and followed in my footsteps. Even ended up workin’ together for a while.”

 

Eliot paused, so Ellie cut in, “Alex and I have been best friends since we were ankle biters, so that’s how Eliot and I first met,” she smiled at the hitter, “He was just kinda always there, this big badass we looked up to, so when Alex and I were stupid teenagers and I got knocked up, we couldn’t imagine anyone else better to protect our daughter if anything ever happened to us.”

 

“So…” Hardison raised and eyebrow, “How do you go from that to…” He motioned to Mika, “ _ That _ .”

 

Ellie turned a shade of red almost as bright as her hair, “Well, Alex and I learned early on we were just better as friends. Alex was a certified  _ genius _ , but he was never really good with people. He would get lost in his work or projects for days…” she waved her hand, “That’s irrelevant. Alex had degrees in biochem and biology, so in between jobs, Eliot would come to us and Alex would stitch him up,” Ellie shrugged, “And then Alex would then disappear and leave me to take care of Eliot, so as time went on, we got to know each other better. I had always had a crush on him and well… Stuff happened.”

 

Hardison raised an eyebrow, “Stuff, huh?”

 

Ellie blushed again and Eliot glared, “Yeah, Hardison, stuff. We ain't talkin’ about it… well, ever. 'Specially not when I'm holding my kid. Just know after Pakistan I'd taken a hit and went to ground like I always do and,” he ruffled the little girl’s hair, “Little Mika here came into our lives.”

 

Mika smiled and leaned up to to kiss Eliot’s cheek before settling right back down with her head on his shoulder, seemingly content to stay in her father’s arms for the foreseeable future. Eliot smiled, a full, genuine smile, something rare for the hitter, “Now back to my missing goddaughter…”

 

“Right,” Ellie cleared her throat, “Scarlett has my hair, but just about everything else comes from her father. She’s a genius, Like qualified for Mensa at seven smart. Speaks six languages, understands math and physics far beyond me. She excels athletically as well. She’s a competitive dancer and gymnast. Pretty much anything she sets her mind to, she can do. I do my best to keep her grounded, but,” she shrugged, “She’s… special.”

 

Hardison nodded along, pictures of Scarlett performing at various dance and gymnastics competitions popping up on the big screens. 

 

“There’s a subdermal gps tracker in her,” she pointed to Mika, then herself, “All of us have them, actually. Alex’s design. Sadly, something seems to be blocking the signal,” she pulled out a tablet and handed it to Hardison, “That had the frequencies for all of us, maybe you can boost it,” she then handed him a low-end smartphone, “This was on my porch this morning. It’s what the kidnappers called me on. They gave Eliot 48 hours to call them back… Now seven hours ago.”

 

“Whoa, whoa,” Hardison cut in as he looked through the tablet she’d given him, “Ya’ll have GPS on  _ Eliot _ ?” Eliot looked at her with narrowed eyes and Ellie blushed, “Damn this is some mighty fine tech. Where’d yall get this?”

 

“Alex,” Eliot and Ellie said at the same time.

 

“He was paranoid to high heaven, invented and implanted the trackers into us just in case,” Ellie looked at Eliot, “I planted the one on you after you came to see me last year with two bullet wounds. Kinda wanted to be able to find the father of my child if he got himself killed.”

 

“You and I will talk about  _ that  _ later,” Eliot gave her a look that told her he meant business, “Alex was a wiz with tech of all kinds. One of his pet projects was to use technology to enhance the human condition. He invented a new way of grafting prosthetics to nerves when he was sixteen. We may have to consider his projects are what they’re after,” He looked at Ellie, who was chewing on her lip, “What I tell you next, it doesn’t leave this room, alright?”

 

Both Hardison and Parker nodded so he continued, “A few years back, Adam was in deep cover and someone found out that his baby brother could build them a dirty bomb. They took Alex, and blew Adam’s cover. I was able to get ‘em both out, but Alex…”

 

“Alex was exposed to some high level radiation,” Ellie finished for him, “It poisoned him.”

 

“Damn Eliot,” Hardison looked up from his screen, “Ya’ll like a spy drama come to life.”

 

Eliot glared at him, “Shut up.”

 

“So...” Ellie cut in, “What’s next?”

 

Hardison looked away from them and back down at the tablet in front of him, “Right. Well from what I can tell, the tracker is still transmitting, just the transmission’s being blocked. Maybe if we could get closer I could boost the signal…”

 

“Where was she taken from exactly?” Parker had finished her cereal and began looking over Hardison’s shoulder as he looked through web files on Scarlett.

 

“Hollywood & Highland,” Ellie answered, “Scar likes the candy store there. Her aunt said she left the candy store, Sweet, at around six and noticed she was gone and notified security at about six thirty. I filed a report with the police, but I haven’t told them about the demands,” she side-eyed Eliot, “‘Cause there is no way  _ that _ could ever go well.”

 

Hardison nodded and narrated his actions on the computer, “A’ight, for a mall, they got pretty good security, I’ll pull the security feeds, see what I can get, try and find faces and all that, but,” he shook his head, “It’s a big mall. It could take me a minute. It might be a good idea to call them and try to triangulate the call,” Hardison shrugged, “I mean, if they know who Eliot Spencer is, they probably know we’d trace the call, but it could give us a bit more to go on.”

 

Eliot nodded and walked over to the screen, “Pull up a map of the greater Los Angeles area,” Hardison complied and Eliot used one arm to point and the other to hold the child, “This right here is the mall she was taken from,” he pointed to a spot in Hollywood, “And this over here is where Ellie lives,” He pointed to a location in Huntington Beach, “It’s about an hour to an hour-and-a-half drive, depending on traffic. Now Scarlett, ain’t your everyday nine year old,” he winked at Ellie, “She grew up with me as her godfather. She ain’t just smart, she’s a scrapper too. She wouldn’t go easy, and even if they drugged her, when she woke up she’d make sure to cause a ruckus,” He adjusted his grip on Mika a bit, noticing that she’d fallen asleep on him, “I doubt they would’ve gotten her on a plane. If they were smart, they woulda taken her up north where things are less populated or out of state, but that would bring the feds in… Either that or somewhere without nosy neighbors. Abandoned warehouses or possibly a foreclosure in one of the nicer neighborhoods. I'd set up a radius of about a two to three hour drive from this point,” Eliot pointed to a spot in between Ellie's house and the mall, “And start looking for possible locations from there. There's probably a lot, but it's a better start than none.”

 

“Right. So,” Ellie clapped her hands and rubbed them together, “What are we gonna do?”

  
Parker grinned, “Let’s go steal back a nine year old.” 


	2. After Pakistan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie takes care of Eliot after his hinky business in Pakistan.

Eliot woke with a start, sitting up and instantly regretting it when pain shot through just about every part of his body. He fell back against the pillows under his head with a groan and opened his eyes slowly this time to take in his surroundings. He was in some kind of bed, his head surrounded by fluffy pillows. The ceiling was a pale blue and what he could see of the walls were painted a dark navy. There was a window to the right that had a warm light he associated with the sun either rising or setting, and he could hear someone moving and breathing to his left.

“Careful, you’ve got two cracked ribs and one’s actually broken, you move too much you’re likely to puncture a lung, too,” A familiar feminine voice chastised him, “And since I know you’re gonna do something else stupid, I feel the need to warn you you also have a broken ankle and a fractured wrist, not to mention two bullet wounds. You’re not going anywhere for a hot minute, so settle in.”

“I don’t remember gettin’ out,” he groaned, throwing a hand over his eyes, his throat dry and his voice gruffer than usual, “How’d I get here, Elle? Where is here?”

“We’re at my house in Florida,” Ellie said as she sat on the bed next to him, “All I know about you escaping is about a day ago I got a call from Vance asking us to come get you. Alex patched you up and now it’s just you and me here,” she tapped him on the shoulder and held a cup of tea in front of his face, offering it to him, “We didn’t want Scarlett to see you looking like hamburger meat so Alex took off with her. No one else knows you’re here, not even your new team.”

Eliot sat up slowly this time, avoiding jarring his ribs and wrist. He took the tea Ellie offered, the warmth of the mug comforting. He took a slow sip, taking in Ellie. She sat before him in a pair of short pajama shorts, cross legged, her red hair thrown up into a messy bun and wearing a worn out shirt from his high school wrestling team he’d misplaced years ago. She wore no makeup and her glasses had blue frames that brought out the color of her eyes.

He’d never seen a woman look more beautiful than her at this moment.

“Thanks for gettin’ me out,” he took another sip and sighed happily, the warm fluid soothing his angry throat, “And takin’ care of me.”

Ellie shrugged and stole the cup back from him for a sip, “Always. Besides, you know no one else can deal with your surly ass when you’re bedridden,” she shrugged and handed him back the mug, “I think you just behave for me because you like my ass.”

Eliot laughed and instantly regretted it as it sent shooting pain up his sides, “Nah, it’s your modesty… and your rack.”

Ellie smiled and leaned forward to kiss his cheek, “Good to know you’re still the same old Eliot,” she slid out of the bed, “You hungry? I got chicken noodle soup for ya. It ain’t the canned kind, don’t worry. The ingredients are all store bought though, you’ll just have to suffer through.”

Eliot made a pouty face at her, “Aw, damn. I guess it’ll do.”

Ellie looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes narrow, but still smiling, “Be good or I’ll spank you, injured or not.”

Eliot smiled at her and took another sip of the tea as she walked out of the room, walking in a way that let him know she was purposely swaying her hips to show off her shapely ass and tease him. She was a spitfire, that one, but there was no one else he trusted while he was incapacitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his new team, necessarily, but they had never seen him this injured and he honestly intended to keep it that way. Ellie had seen him through a couple of low moments and somehow kept him from going stir crazy.

He closed his eyes and apparently drifted, because before he knew it, Ellie was walking back into the room with two mugs of soup. He placed the now lukewarm tea on the nightstand and took the offered mug of soup and watched as she sat cross-legged on the bed again.

“So I thought you hated Florida, Why we here?” he asked, sipping the hot soup slowly, afraid of giving himself stomach cramps by eating too fast. There was no telling how long it’d been since his last real meal.

“Because I hate it. People aren’t likely to come looking for either of us here. The house is under a false name and is really only used when Krista and I come back home to visit family, who don't know I'm in town,” she looked down at her phone when it buzzed and sighed.

“What is it?” Eliot asked, “Anything I should know?”

“No, it’s stupid,” she dropped the phone face down between them, “It’s just that Alex said he was gonna take Scarlett for some alone time, but I just got a text from her telling me that he dumped her on Vance and his boys,” she shook her head, “It’s petty, but I hate when he pulls stuff like this.”

“Naw, it ain’t petty,” Eliot squeezed her hand, “He should want to be around his girl. Both of ya.”

Ellie gave him a sad, half smile, “Yeah well, I haven’t been his girl for a long time,” she squeezed his hand back, “Scarlett does want to see you when you’re better though. She mentioned something about you promising to teach her how to punch?”

Eliot smiled, “Girl’s getting too pretty and smart for her own good. She’s gotta know how to protect herself.”

Ellie chuckled and let go of his hand to take another sip of her soup, using a spoon instead of drinking straight from the mug like he did, “I’m not arguing with you. So, Mr. Spencer, what would you like to do today that doesn’t involve leaving this bed?”

Eliot raised an eyebrow at her.

“You have three cracked ribs, you perv,” she playfully shoved at his shoulder. It hurt a bit, but not enough to bother him, so he made sure not to let her know it, “Anything other than sex?”

He grinned, “Well since you won’t let me up and it’s just the two of us, I could teach you some more Russian?”

“Nah, Scarlett’s been teaching me,” she said, following with what loosely translated to, “You are a bullheaded man-child.”

Eliot chuckled, “Yeah that sounds like her,” he chugged the rest of his soup and placed the mug on the nightstand, then patted the bed next to him, “We could watch a movie or something?” 

Ellie scooted over to sit next to him, shoulder to shoulder, “Wow. You sitting still long enough to willingly watch tv?” She placed her palm on his forehead, pretending to check his temperature, “Lemme call Alex back, I think you might have been poisoned.”

Eliot glared at her and gently shoved her shoulder with his, “Shut up. I'm trying here.”

Ellie just grinned at him before leaning up to kiss his cheek again, “I know, sugar pie. I could bring you a book to read.”

“Oh? And what would you do then?”

She shrugged, “I dunno. I'm not the one who has to stay in bed.”

He put his uninjured hand over his heart, “Ouch, you wound me. I can't believe you would abandon me in my time of need.”

She just smiled at him, yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.

“You stayed up all night watching me, huh?” 

She nodded against his shoulder, her eyes beginning to droop, “Yeah. I know you're paranoid, 'sides, I worry about you. One day you're just not gonna wake up. I wanna prolong that for as long as possible… make sure it doesn't come now.”

He jostled her a bit, just enough to knock her off his shoulder. She glared up at him and he just ignored the look, “Get me a book and you can nap.”

Ellie grinned at him and hopped up to run out of the room before pivoting and turning back to ask him, “Classic or smutty?”

Eliot grinned. Ellie was the only one who knew about his secret love of romance novels. It was a holdover tradition from when she was still in school. He'd once caught her reading a smutty novel and took it from her intending to embarrass her but ended up getting hooked on the genre himself, “Smutty… Next book in that series you love?”

Ellie nodded and skipped out of the room, so Eliot took a moment to catalogue his aches and pains. He was pretty beaten, but he’d had worse. He was wearing just a pair of boxers and a black tank, with a walking boot on his right foot and a brace on his left wrist. He could feel that his ribs were wrapped up and there were some bandages on his back, covering what he assumed were the bullet wounds. His hair was slightly damp and french braided out of his face, most likely cleaned and plaited by Ellie. He shifted slowly, settling himself in and taking stock of what ached. Over all, it could’ve been worse. 

“Okay, so I’m pretty sure this is where you left off,” Ellie skipped back in the room, carrying one of her fluffy blankets and a paperback she then promptly tossed to him. He caught it and chuckled at her as she excitedly climbed into the bed with him. She started to snuggle into his side before pausing and looking up at him, biting her lip.

“Lap’s good,” he told her, opening the book as she curled up like a cat, using his right leg as a pillow. He chuckled at her and gently began stroking her hair, something he knew she loved and put her to sleep almost instantly. 

“Mmm. I miss you, Eliot,” she all but purred, wrapping herself up in the blanket and throwing one arm over his legs.

“I miss you too, kitten.”

And with that, she was asleep.

It was a testament to how tired she must have really been. Ellie was a severe insomniac, almost as bad as he was himself. She had always been like that though, going and going until she was utterly exhausted and couldn't stay awake any longer. It was even worse with anyone but those she'd known and trusted the longest around her when she tried to sleep. Strangely enough, she'd always been comfortable enough to sleep around him, as if her subconscious had always known he'd protect her with everything he had.

Eliot continued to toy with her hair with one hand, holding the unopened book in the other. She'd truly changed a lot in the thirteen years he'd known her. She went from the cute kid who had more street smarts at nine than many adults he'd known to the passionate, loving woman and mother she was today. Somewhere along the line he'd stopped seeing her as a kid. He didn't know if it was when she consoled him after he got back from being detained and tortured only to find out Amy had married another man. Or when she'd fought her parents tooth and nail to bring her daughter into the world when she was still barely more than a child herself. It was likely that his shift in feelings had already started when she kept him from making a final decision out of guilt when he'd finally gotten out from under Moreau.

But he was damn sure he had feelings for her now that were not at all what they used to be.

He gently pulled her glasses from her face and set them on the nightstand before opening the book and starting to read.

 

**********

Eliot soon learned the sun had been rising and the room he was in was facing west. He had been in the house before, this was the place Ellie owned out in the middle of nowhere, but close to a wildlife refuge she liked to volunteer at. He could hear the trees in the wind just outside the second story window, and at one point, her German Shepherd, Snuffles, had come into the room, sniffed him and walked off. He’d also read halfway through the book and really had to pee by the time Ellie even remotely began to stir. 

She rolled off his leg and startled herself awake, “Mmm. What time is it? How long’d I sleep?”

Eliot looked over at the digital clock on the nightstand, “It's early afternoon, 2:34,” he started sliding his body to the other side of the bed when she looked up and glared at him, “What? I have to pee.”

She grumbled, waved him off and buried her face in a pillow, “It’s the door on the right. Don't break anything else.”

Eliot shook his head at her and slid from the bed without her help. It was slow going, but he managed to make it out of the bed and hobble his way into the bathroom. In all honestly, he wasn’t even angry, he thought it was kind of cute how grumpy she was when she first woke up. Granted she could be downright vicious if provoked, but he mostly knew how to avoid her wrath and she attacked with words, not fists, like he did.

Eliot took care of his business, slow as molasses, but he got it handled without further injury to his body or his ego before hobbling his way back into the room. He hated being off balance, but he was glad Alex had the forethought to put him a boot and not a cast, as having to use a crutch would’ve really driven him insane.

Eliot waddled back into the room to find Ellie sitting up with a video game controller in her hands and her glasses sitting crookedly on her face as she focused on whatever game she was playing, her mouth hanging open slightly. He leaned against the door frame, crossed his arms and chuckled at her. Hardison reminded him a lot of her sometimes, only she was much more subtle about her geekiness than he was. 

“Having fun?” he asked, his voice teasing.

“Hold on,” She mashed a few buttons, her tongue sticking out for a moment, then she hit a few more and put the controller down to look up at him, “Sorry, can’t save in battle.”

Eliot shook his head at her and made his way to the bed, “Makes sense. So am I gonna be stuck watching you play all evening?”

Ellie bit her lip and blushed, “Yeah, no. Sorry about that again.”

Eliot grinned at her, climbing into the bed, remembering what they called the “Fable Incident.” When her friend had first introduced her to gaming, Ellie had played the game Fable for fourteen hours straight and he’d had to physically remove her from her friend’s house to get her to stop. 

“It’s alright, darlin’,” he patted the bed next to him and Ellie crawled over to sit next to him, bringing the controller over with her. She used it to turn off the console, then rested her head on his shoulder.

“You bored yet?” she asked, wrapping both of her arms around one of his.

Eliot kissed the top of her hair, “Nah. I might fight ya for access to a kitchen soon though.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “You’re supposed to stay in bed to heal, crazy. At least give it a day before you invade my kitchen.”

Eliot pursed his lips, “I dunno. I’m not sure if I see what’s in it for me.”

Ellie jabbed him in the hip with her finger, “Not dying.”

He shook his head, “Nah, there’s gotta be something else.”

“My eternal love and gratitude?”

“Mmm, I already got that.”

Ellie smacked his shoulder, “Quit being an ass and tell me what you want from me.”

Eliot smirked down at her, enjoying their playful banter, “I dunno Elle, go get us some lunch and I'll think about it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “I'm pretty sure there should've been a please in there somewhere…”

He leaned down and kissed her nose, “Pretty please?”

She squeezed his arm, “Much better.”

***********

Ellie and Eliot spent the rest of the evening together, not really doing much of anything, just enjoying each other’s company. The next afternoon, Eliot ended up strumming on an old guitar he found lying around while Ellie tried to get some hand-sewing done. Mostly she listened to his singing or sang right along with him. He knew he shouldn't distract her and let her do things other than hang around with him, but he resigned himself to being selfish, just for now. Her presence was too warm and his thoughts were too cold for him to willingly let her go just yet.

After about an hour of attempting to embroider, Ellie grunted and tossed the embroidery hoop she was working on aside, “I give up. You're too sexy and distracting when you sing.”

“Shucks, darlin’, you keep on with that flattery, I might actually start to think you like me,” he drawled, playing up his Oklahoma accent as he started strumming a country song he had stuck in his head.

Ellie rolled her eyes, “Oh we both know I'd ride you into the sunset given the opportunity.”

Eliot coughed and missed a note, “Naw, that's a new one.”

Ellie just raised an eyebrow at him, “Come on, Eliot, we play, we tease, we flirt and we dance around each other, but we both know you'd never go farther than that.” 

“Oh and how do we know that?” he’d stopped playing at this point and put the guitar down, crossing his arms. 

Ellie raised and eyebrow and crossed her arms in turn, “Okay… you’re serious?” 

Eliot shrugged, “Maybe, so what if I am?”

Ellie’s brow furrowed and she stared at him with her mouth hanging open for a moment. She then let out a chuckle and shook her head, “Eliot...I don’t think now is the best time for us to be having this conversation.”

“I don’t see why not. I’m stuck here for at least another few days,” He uncrossed his arms to pat the bed next to him, “Come ’ere.”

Ellie crossed her arms and stayed in her arm chair defiantly, “No.”

Eliot raised his hand in defeat, “Fine, but I still wanna know why you think I wouldn't be interested in you.”

“Oh please, I’ve seen the women you sleep with,” she rubbed her neck nervously, “I know I don’t measure up, okay?”

Eliot’s face went stoic, “Ellie, Imma need you to pay attention here,” He leaned forward, making sure he had eye contact with her before continuing, “Now I don’t ever want to hear you say anything like that again,” when she scoffed and looked away, he shifted, intending to get up and go to her if he had to.

“Damn it, Eliot,” she cursed at him, jumping out of her chair and holding out her hands to stop him from getting up, “Stay put.”

He took her hands in his, “I need you to hear me and I’m gonna do what I have to to make sure you do,” He lifted one of her hands to her lips, “Sure, I sleep around, but do you really think any of those women mean anything to me? That any of them know me like you do?”

“You know you’re really not helping your case by reminding me you sleep around,” she narrowed her eyes at him.

He ignored her and continued, “Elle, you’re my best friend,” He used her hands to pull her closer and put his hands on her hips, “Sex is one thing, but you and me, what we got? That trust? That’s special, something I ain’t got with anyone else.”

Ellie chewed on her lip and placed her hands on his shoulders, but didn’t say anything, so he continued.

“You’re beautiful, a’ight?” she opened her mouth, to interrupt, but he shook his head and kept going, “I mean it,” He tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear, “And if you don’t believe that I’m attracted to you, I’ve got a very uncomfortable situation going on between my legs that’ll prove you wrong,” He gave her a lopsided grin, “If you need proof, be my guest.”

Ellie rolled her eyes and playfully shoved at his shoulder, “Perv.” She sighed and cupped his face in one hand, her thumb running over the scar on his upper lip, “I hear what you have to say, and I get it. Not sure if I believe it, but… I just… I don’t wanna lose what we have.”

Eliot turned and kissed the palm of her hand, “I ain’t going anywhere, darlin’,” he chuckled, “At least not right now.”

Ellie sighed and pressed her forehead to his, “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to hear you say something like that, Eliot?”

He chuckled, “Probably too long, which, yeah… Is my fault.”

Ellie smiled, “I kinda wanna kiss you, you big idiot.”

“What’s stopping you, kitten?”

She shook her head and pulled back, “Still not convinced it’s a good idea.”

Eliot narrowed his eyes and pulled her close again, moving his uninjured hand to her hair, cupping her head and gently holding her close, “Tell me to stop and I will.”

She just stared into his eyes and licked her bottom lip. Eliot leaned in slowly, giving her one last chance to back out. Ellie seemed to have something else in mind though, when she reached up, grabbed him by the hair and yanked him closer to press their lips together. He growled and tightened his hand in her hair, holding her to him, kissing her back with just as much passion as she put out. She made a small noise and he took the opportunity to nibble on her lip and pull her into his lap.

She gasped and pulled back, putting her hands on his shoulders to hold him back, “Eliot! Be careful, your ribs!”

Eliot chuckled, holding her by her ass, “Trust me, that’s the last thing on my mind right now sweetheart.”

“Yeah well it’s on my mind,” she chastised him, “I don’t want you hurt anymore than you already are.”

Eliot rested his forehead against her shoulder and groaned, “You’re killing me here.”

Ellie stroked his hair and kissed his temple, “Don’t be such a baby.”

Eliot sat up and kissed her again, gentler this time. He ran one hand up her spine and around to cup her cheek, taking his time with his kisses. Ellie followed his lead, gripping his hair in her fist. She made a little mewling sound and leaned into him, deepening the kiss. He nibbled on her lip a bit and this time she didn’t jump when he pulled her close. She seemed to melt right in his arms and opened her mouth enough for him to slip his tongue into her mouth. She met his tongue with hers, matching his rhythm until she shifted her hips against him and somehow managed to jar his ribs, sending a shot of pain up his side.

He pulled back with a hiss and Ellie gasped and jumped off his lap as if she’d been the one hurt, “Damn it!”

“Ellie, sweetheart, come back, I’m alright,” he held one hand out to her and cupped his rib with the other.

She shook her head, “Uh uh. Nope. You are trouble, Eliot,” she brought her hand up and touched her lips that were bright pink from his kisses, “Too much. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if you got hurt worse because I get caught up in the moment.”

Eliot sighed and dropped his hand, dropping back onto the pillows and running his hand over his face, “A’ight,” he let out a humorless chuckle, “I can wait.”

Ellie chewed on her lip and shifted her feet, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Eliot nodded, “I’m fine sweetheart, do you wanna come lay with me?”

She nodded and climbed into the bed, stretching out on her side close to him, but not close enough to touch. He held out his arm and let her use it as a pillow before kissing the top of her hair, “We’re okay, Ellie, promise.”

She traced absent-minded patterns along his chest with her finger, “We’re a hot mess, that’s what we are, Eliot.” 

Eliot laughed, “Yeah, I'll give you that, sweetheart.”

She smiled and sighed, “What happens next? I mean, between us.”

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, “Well. I don't know. I guess it depends on what we want to happen,” he toyed with her hair, “I don't have a damn thing planned for now, so we've got some time to figure it out.”

Ellie shifted so she was laying on her elbows and looking down at him, “What about your new super team?”

He smiled, “We all agreed to go our separate ways after the last job. It’s how I ended up workin’ a job for Vance,” He shrugged, “We’re still friendly and all, just... Not together.”

Ellie quirked her head to the side, “So does that mean you’ll actually take the full three weeks to heal up?”

“I ain’t lyin’ in a bed for three weeks if that’s what you mean,” he held her hand in his, “But I might be convinced to stick around here for a while, you know, if you’ll have me.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “Of course I want you here…” she paused, “Even though honestly I’d rather not be in Florida myself, but we’ll make due until you’re clear to travel.”

He nodded, “Sounds good to me,” he ran his hand along her cheek, his thumb over her plump bottom lip, “I want this, Elle, I do. You and me, it’s a good thing.”

She bit his thumb and smiled at him, “So you’re staying?”

He smiled, “Yeah I’m staying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story will have a fractured timeline because I can't seem to write any other way anymore. So one chapter will be in the "present" and the one after will be a flashback.  
> This current flashback takes place in the six months after season 1 and the present is in 2013 a year after Nate and Sophie "retire."


	3. A New Mark

After Hardison was able to backrace the call Ellie had received to the greater Los Angeles area, but unable to narrow his search much more, the team decided it would be better to set up a base of operations in LA and return the kidnapper’s call from there. The team began rushing about, working like a well oiled machine as they packed what they needed and Ellie stood by and watched, Mika napping on her mother’s shoulder while Eliot helped his team pack. The group moved almost as if in sync, one person asking where something was and another producing it, packing far faster together than if they had tried to alone. It was actually rather impressive.

“Aiight, now I gotta book us a flight,” Hardison looked at Ellie over his shoulder as he packed some electronics into padded cases, “Is the little one gonna need her own seat?”

At that Ellie blushed, “Oh well. About that.”

Hardison raised an eyebrow at her and Eliot stopped what he was doing and laughed, “You brought the jet didn’t you?”

Ellie nodded, “Yeah,” she shrugged as she explained, “Alex’s father owns a jet. He said we can have it for whatever we need until his grandbaby is safe.”

Eliot walked over and kissed Ellie on the top of her head, “That’s my girl!” He turned to his crew and clapped his hands, “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Ironically, the crew was a lot less efficient getting to the airport than they were packing. Eliot and Hardison bickered about who would drive, but both agreed Parker was not allowed to drive under any circumstance. Eventually Ellie convinced Eliot to ride with her, since her rental had Mika’s car seat in it, and Hardison and Parker said they’d ride in something called “Lucille.” Then Hardison and Eliot argued about the best way to pack the cars, so Parker and Ellie just snuck behind them and did it themselves, then all but forced the men into the cars so they could leave. They all made it to Hillsboro airport without incident and boarded the small jet. Parker and Hardison took up a row, looking at something on Hardison’s laptop, Ellie had Mika buckled in her car seat, occupying herself with a tablet towards the back of the cabin and Eliot sat in a window seat, reading to himself. Once they reached altitude, Ellie stood up and walked over to plop down next to Eliot.

“Hey stranger,” she said as she sat in the chair, tucking her feet underneath her.

Out of habit, Eliot wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled down at her, “Hey yourself, sweetheart,” he rubbed her shoulder, knowing it was a small comfort, but unable to do anything else for her at the moment, “How, you holding up?”

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, placing one hand on his chest, “I… I don’t really know, honestly. I’m… numb at the moment. I’m scared and I want her in my arms, but at the same time crying or freaking out won’t accomplish anything, so I'm in the space between sadness and anger. I'm ready to do what it takes to get her back.”

“We are gonna get her back,” he hugged her close, “I promise you that, darlin’.”

“Ooh a promise from Eliot Spencer they must be shaking in their boots,” Ellie’s voice oozed with sarcasm.

Eliot swatted her shoulder, “You really can’t control the sarcasm, huh?”

Ellie raised an eyebrow at him, “Look who’s talking.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed, “You’re impossible.”

“I learned it from you,” Ellie looked up at him, “What about you, Eliot?”

“What about me?” he looked to the back of the plane, “I'm not the one with the missing daughter. My kid's right where she needs to be.”

“Oh come on, Scarlett might as well be your child, I know you're blaming yourself and your past for this.”

“It's kinda hard not to when they demand me by name.”

“Did you hire them to take her?” Eliot looked away and she swatted his chest to get his attention,” I mean it Eliot, it’s not your fault bad people choose to do bad things. Just because you did bad things in the past doesn’t mean the world’s trying to smack you down everytime you make a run at happiness.”

He just sighed and stared out the window, not wanting to argue with her. She was right though, he was blaming himself and he did love Scarlett as if she were his own. It was hard not to, the kid was a special kind of something and he'd known her since she was a zygote. She was sharp as a whip, able to speak almost as many languages as he could and do math and science he couldn't. He'd tried to keep his distance but the kid wouldn't have it and wrapped herself around his once cold heart before Mika was even a twinkle in his eye… or a tickle in his cock. Whichever way you looked at it, he needed Scarlett back, just as much as he needed Mika and Ellie safe. 

Ellie took another breath and rubbed his chest a bit before pulling away from him, “Just keep in mind that you don’t hold the market share on bad decisions in this relationship, okay?”

With that she stood up and walked back over to sit with Mika. Eliot just sighed. 

This was going to be a tough job.

**********

About halfway through the flight, Hardison found some new information. He called the adults over and they all huddled around his laptop, leaving Mika asleep in her carseat. 

“Aiight, so I was able to find the security footage of the guys takin’ your girl, which was not easy, might I add. I had to create an algorithm and combine it with facial recog and have it look-”

“Damn it Hardison, geek spiral,” Eliot growled, sitting across from them with Ellie next to him, “The point?”

“Rudeness,” Hardison grumbled under his breath, “Imma give you a pass since I know this sucks for you,” he then added under his breath, “Kinda like finding out your brotha has a daughter you didn't know about.”

“Hardison!”

“Right, right. So I ran their faces through all the usual databases and they’re your average garden variety hired goons, been off the grid for a few years after their ID’s were burned by, get this,” Hardison paused, “Damien Moreau.” 

Eliot cursed, Parker’s eyes went wide and Ellie just stared at him with her mouth hanging open.

“How is Moreau still coming after us from prison?” Parker asked.

“Damn it,” Eliot cursed and stood up, startling Ellie, and began pacing the small width of the plane, “He’s gotta have help, someone loyal to him someone-”

“Now hold up,” Hardison cut him off, “They been burned by Moreau. He gave up names of a bunch of his underlings after we left in an attempt to get his sentence reduced, which our boy Vittori denied. Now these boys went underground for a while, but the word is they've moved on to work for Marcia Moreau, Damien’s now ex-wife.”

Eliot cursed, Parker just looked confused and Ellie’s only reaction was a quick intake of breath.

“By your reaction, Eliot, I’m guessing you know her?” Hardison asked, pulling up an image of the tall brunette for everyone to look at.

“Yeah. And she's a real piece of work,” Eliot answered, standing next to Ellie and putting a hand on her shoulder in what seemed and subconscious motion, “She and Moreau married mostly for convenience. He had money and she had looks, citizenship in a country with no extradition treaty and didn't ask too many questions. I think he may have actually loved her at some point, but they already lived apart and rarely spoke when I worked for him.”

Hardison nodded, “Well. I’m not sure why exactly she came after Ellie, but it gives me a start. Now she had to have known y'all know each other… Any idea how?”

Eliot nodded, “Moreau knew Ellie and I were friends. Knew about Scarlett, too.”

Hardison stared at Eliot as if he was expecting him to continue. When he didn’t Hardison piped up, “Ookay. Well. You gonna tell us how?”

Eliot shrugged, “Not my story to tell. If it becomes relevant, I’ll reconsider.”

Hardison just gaped at him for a moment, “Did you just-” he cut off and made a squaking noise, “Are you for real? I never-”

Ellie looked up at Eliot as Hardison continued to flounder over his words, “Did you break him?”

The corner of Eliot’s mouth quirked up, “He does that.”

Ellie looked at an indignant Hardison and sighed, “I had a run in with Moreau and Eliot back when they worked together and things went pear shaped for all parties involved,” she looked up at Eliot, who seemed angrily lost in his own mind, “But Eliot and I made it out and cut a deal. We leave Moreau alone, he leaves us alone.”

Hardison’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, “Oookay. So us going after him in San Lorenzo…”

“Pretty much is the exact opposite of what we agreed,” Ellie finished for him, “But nothing really came of it. We had another hitter stay with us and there was only one attempt on our lives before ya’ll had him locked up so,” she shrugged.

“Only one attempt. That’s… good?” Hardison looked at her with wide eyes and a slightly disbelieving look.

She shrugged, but didn’t say anything.

“Ookay. So. Good to know…” Hardison nodded, and looked back down at his tablet, “It’s possible he coulda set up some kind of redundancy… you know, he gets sent away, his wifey gets all his intel.”

“More likely his revenge,” Eliot rejoined the conversation, his brows furrowed together and his arms folded across his chest, “But it does sound like something he’d do. The asshole had backup plans for his backup plans.”

“Like Nate?”Parker piped up, looking worried at the thought, “That could be bad. We don’t need another evil Nate.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow, “Do I want to know what an Evil Nate is?’

Eliot ignored her, “He was more of a Plan M kind of guy,” he gave a Hardison a look that Ellie didn’t understand, “His plans tended to involve much more killing and maiming if he didn’t get his way, but he had a lot of them.”

Parker nodded, “So the mark possibly already has a plan in place. Hmm...”

Hardison smiled at her, “Are those wheels turnin’, mama?”

She grinned at him and nodded, “What else you got?”

Hardison nodded and continued his run down, “Marcia got pretty much screwed when we took down Moreau. She had some money, but she burnt through it pretty quick and lately it seems she’s followed into her ex’s footsteps, working as a middleman… well, middlewoman… anyway. She’s been using her husband’s old contacts and some of his tricks to hook people up with guns, smuggling art, stuff like that, but she’s not as careful or scary as Moreau and has gotten herself noticed by INTERPOL… Guess who’s lead on her case?”

“Sterling?” surprisingly it was Ellie who answered.

When everybody stared at her she shrugged, “What? He tried to get me to flip on Eliot a few years back. Idiot didn’t realise we’re actually… well…” she looked over at Eliot, “Whatever we are. I fed him some nonsense that sent him after a different hitter who was going after people’s families. He took him out instead and was off ya’ll’s trail for a few months. So we called it even and he left me alone after that.”

“That actually makes sense,” Hardison nodded, “And we thank you for that,” He tipped an imaginary hat to her, “So Marcie has been lying low lately. And from her accounts, it looks like it’s costing her. I’d give her maybe six months at the rate she’s going.”

“Well the price on Eliot’s head is… exponential,” Ellie bit her lip, “Money like that… If I weren’t already rich…”

Eliot glared at her, “You’re lucky I know you’re not serious… and that I have enough dirt on you that if you gave me up I’d take you with me.”

Ellie grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him.

Eliot sighed, “There is something not right with you.”

“Hey! He says that to me too!” Parker cut in excitedly.

Ellie smiled at her, “Really? Huh. I always remind him after that there maybe something wrong with me but he’s the one who keeps sleepin’ with me.”

Parker barked out a laugh and Eliot hid his face in his hands, “Dammit Ellie, don’t say shit like that!”

“I like her, can we keep her?” Parker asked Hardison.

Hardison just gave her an incredulous look, “Sure, mama, sure.”

Parker smiled and leaned over to give Ellie a hug that could only be described as awkward, but the other woman returned it regardless, “We’re keeping you, okay?”

Ellie chuckled and patted Parker on the back, “Sure thing… I think.”

Eliot just rubbed his temples, “God now there’s two of them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I'm not happy with this chapter, but this is what it is. The next one is already double this length, but almost done. It's slightly killing me, but alas. Like the plot lines and backstory to this fic has quadrupled since I started writing it and it's become so convoluted it's ridiculous. Anyway, I'd love to hear what y'all think, comments and kudos much appreciated!


	4. After Pakistan Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Ellie explore their new feelings for each other. Eliot has a moment alone with Scarlett.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there's any typos. This chapter was such a beast I'm done with it lol. If y'all catch any, please let me know.  
> Also updated the rating on this and added a warning for future references to underage and non-con (they'll be referenced, but not actually depicted). I'll keep them updated as I go :D

It took three days for Ellie to finally let Eliot into the kitchen, and even then she hovered over him, watching his every move as if he’d break if she looked away. Heck, he had to physically move her to get farther than the bathroom until this morning and she still wouldn’t let him leave the house. As much as he acted annoyed, it was actually refreshing to have someone worry over him for once. It wasn’t something he was used to, but he was finding that the liked it.

 

He was trying to cook her her favorite dish while she sat cross legged on the counter angrily texting on her phone.

 

“You know, you’re about to type right through that screen,” he said as he deveined some shrimp, “What’d the phone ever do to you?”

 

She grunted and put the phone down on the counter, face down so she didn’t have to see the screen, “Sorry. Alex is being impossible,” she sighed and ran her hand through her loose bangs, pushing them back from her face, “He got called in for another consultation job, so Scarlett will be here later today.”

 

Eliot got rid of the shells and rinsed off his hands before pouring premeasured cream into already cooking trinity, “I’m trying to figure out why exactly that’s a bad thing, help me out here?”

 

Ellie dumped the spices he’d mixed in the pan, “It’s supposed to be his week with her. This is becoming a recurring thing,” she leaned back and crossed her arms, “He’ll take her for a day or so and then find a reason to cancel. It’s starting to give her a complex. She thinks her dad doesn't want her anymore and I am the one trying to explain to her that he's just selfish without calling him selfish,” she banged her head on the cabinet behind her in frustration, “Add to that, everytime you two are together, you both end up wrestling or conducting some weird MacGyver experiment and you are  _ not  _ healed enough for that.”

 

Eliot stirred the dish, “I’ll be on my best behavior, promise,” he added milk and cheese, “I can’t help you with the Alex thing, but if he doesn’t want to be around his daughter, his loss. Let him be an idiot. I'm more than happy to have her with us.”

 

Ellie chuckled and grinned at him, “You know she’s gonna flip when she sees you. She is always telling us you’re her best friend, you know.”

 

He chuckled and checked on the pasta, “There’s something not right with y'all, you know that?”

 

“And yet you’re the one who keeps hanging around us,” she stole a piece of shrimp with a fork and he slapped her hand away. 

 

“Well my daddy did always say I was stubborn masochist,” he drawled, looking over at her and smirking. She chuckled and leaned over, pulling him in for a quick and sweet kiss.

 

He smiled against her lips, thoroughly enjoying the fact that he could do this. Sure, it would be nice if she would let him take things further, but something about the sweet little kisses and touches she kept stealing made him just as happy. It was like she had to keep making sure she could, and honestly he still got a little thrill each time himself. He’d known for a while his feelings for Ellie had progressed past friendship, but he hadn’t really expected to ever admit that.

 

Over all, he was glad he had.

 

Eliot pulled back and didn’t even try to hide the shit eating grin on his face, “Now quit distracting me or the food’s gonna burn,” He waved a spoon at her, “And food burns, I’m takin’ it outta your hide.”

 

“Ooh I’m shakin’ in my fuzzy socks,” she wiggled her feet to display the aforementioned socks, imitating his accent, “You gonna take me out behind woodshed?”

 

He laughed and shook his head at her, “You don’t have a woodshed.”

 

She shrugged, “I’m sure you’d build one if it meant you got to spank me behind it.”

 

He choked on his laughter, “Go stand in the corner, I’m done with you.”

 

She jumped off the counter and stood behind him, resting her head between his shoulder blades and her hands on his hips. He patted her hand and continued stirring the food, enjoying the feeling of her leaning against him.

 

“How are your ribs doing?” she asked, the vibrations of her voice against his back tickling him a bit.

 

“Nothin’ I can’t handle, darlin’,” he tested the pasta and decided it was ready, “Pasta’s done, let me drain it.”

 

“No, mine,” she wrapped her arms around his hips and squeezed, not enough to hurt him, but tight enough he would have to use force to move.

 

He patted her arms, “I know, darlin’, but if you don’t let me move, the noodles are gonna get all soggy.”

 

She let go of him and he looked over his shoulder to see her pouting, “Fine, but only to prevent soggy noodles.”

 

He shook his head at her again, smiling, and drained the noodles before tossing them into the sauce he’d already finished, stirring the whole thing together. Meanwhile, Ellie had resumed her position on the counter after pulling out two bowls and silverware for them. He scooped up a serving for each of them and tossed some Monterrey Jack cheese on top and handed her a bowl, putting his to the side while he turned off the stove and covered the pan so he could put the food away later. 

 

He grabbed his bowl and leaned against the counter next to Ellie, facing her. He took a bite and noticed she was already halfway through hers, “I’m guessing you like it, huh?”

 

She nodded at him and continued eating, happily humming as she did so, “Yes, thank you.”

 

“My pleasure, darlin’,” he began eating his serving at a much more leisurely pace, “So what do you wanna do with the rest of the day? ‘Cause I ain’t gettin’ back into bed.”

 

She glared at him for a moment, “Eliot…” she sighed and shrugged, “Alright. I know there’s no use arguing with you. I don’t really have anything that urgently needs doing. We could watch a movie, cuddle, maybe do something crafty around the house. Whatever,” she slid a pill bottle over to him, “Don’t forget to take one, stubborn. I ain’t arguing with you one this one.”

 

Eliot sighed and picked up the bottle. They’d already had this argument last night, she wanted him steadily taking pain killers and he really only wanted to take them if he couldn’t stand the pain. Normally he was an unstoppable force, but with her, he’d met his unmovable object. After she’d threatened to drug his food and not speak to him unless she got her way, he chose not to argue with her anymore. As much as he wanted to argue on principle, it really wasn’t a hardship and he was still functioning enough to protect her if he needed to, “Yes mom.”

 

She raised an eyebrow and gave him her actual “mom” look that made her daughter cower and immediately fall in line. It only made him give her an unrepentant grin before leaning over and kissing her cheek. She rolled her eyes at him and patted his cheek.

 

“Eat your food, old man,” she waved a fork at him, “And behave.”

 

Eliot raised an eyebrow at her and had an overwhelming and childish urge to do the exact opposite of what she commanded, just to be contradictory. 

 

“Respect your elders, little girl,” he settled for glaring at her before going back to eating his food anyway, but leaving the pain medication on the counter in silent defiance. 

 

Ellie raised an eyebrow and slowly  pushed the bottle towards him, not saying a word. She just gave him a look that said she meant business and finished off her food. Eliot watched her, as she systematically hopped off the counter, rinsed off her bowl and placed it in the washer, all while blatantly ignoring his presence. He kept his silence, deciding he could play her game as well. 

 

After she closed the dishwasher, she turned to him and crossed her arms, “Take your medicine, Eliot. I’m going to take Snuffles for a walk, maybe stop by the store, don't break anything else while I'm gone.”

 

“Alright, gimme a second and I'll join you.”

 

“No Eliot, I'm going by myself,” she grabbed a leash off the wall, “Snuffles gets too excited on walks and I don’t want him jumping up on you.”

 

Eliot shook his head, “I don't like the idea of you going anywhere alone, especially if I don't know where you’re going. I'll be fine.”

 

Ellie let out an unamused chuckle, “You’re not getting it, are you? I don’t  _ want _ you with me. You don't seem to care if you get hurt, but I do. You don’t want to take painkillers? Fine, I can't force you. But that doesn't mean I want to be around to watch you struggle with the pain,” her voice was steadily getting louder, “And soon my six year old is going to be here and I have to figure out some excuse as to why her father ditched her,  _ again _ , and why her godfather looks like he went through a meat grinder. So, yeah, I'm going to take my damn dog for a walk  _ alone _ so I can figure out the best way to handle this shit show.”

 

Eliot stared at her, speechless. He wasn’t sure what happened, but his brain was just not processing how they went from what seemed to be zero to sixty in the span of a few moments.  Ellie stared back for a moment before clipping the leash on the dog’s collar and pulling him towards the front door.

 

At least the dog had the decency to look afraid of her outburst, too.

 

“Wait.. you're  _ actually _ mad at me?” he asked, dumbfounded.

 

“No shit, Sherlock,” she snapped, storming out the door and slamming it behind her.  

 

Eliot stared at the door, gobsmacked. It was obvious he did something wrong, but he still wasn’t exactly sure what. He sighed. There wasn’t much use dwelling on it until she got back, so he turned around and started cleaning up the kitchen, putting the extra food away in a tupperware container and placing it in the fridge. After that he began to clean the pots and pans, scrubbing them a bit more than was entirely necessary to get out some of his anger. He noticed the pain medicine on the counter and sighed to himself, grabbing the bottle and pulling one of the little pills out. He took the pill with a sip of water then leaned back against the counter, looking around the kitchen, trying to decide how to occupy his time.

 

He drummed his fingers against the counter, taking as deep of a breath as he could when the land line began to ring. He planned to ignore it when he saw the caller ID read  _ Wallace, Alex _ . He stretched over and grabbed the handset, hitting the talk button and holding it up to his ear, “Hello? Ellie’s… house?”

 

Alex’s snort came through the phone, “Eliot! My man! I shoulda known you’d be up and kickin’. How you feeling, bro?”

 

Eliot’s brow furrowed, “Better, but I doubt you called just to ask after me. What’s up?”

 

Alex took his statement in stride, “There’s that southern charm I adore about you,” he teased, “Always straight to the point. Anyway, Ellie wasn’t answering her cell. I was trying to let her know I’m about to pull up to drop Scarlett off.”

 

Elot looked over at the clock, “Okay. Sorry. She just gave me the impression you’d be by later rather than sooner.”

 

“Yeah… We were gonna stop for lunch, but Scarlett said she’s not hungry so…” he trailed off, “So Ellie around?”

 

“She took Snuffles for a walk. She was in a…” he paused thinking of the best way to word this, “Mood.”

 

“Oh shit,” Eliot could hear his car switch from pavement to the dirt of the driveway, “Uh… well… Scarlett’s asleep. I was gonna try and keep her that way and just put her to bed so she shouldn’t bug you too much before Ellie gets back. Anyway, I’m here, so I’ll see you in a sec.”

 

The line disconnected, cutting of Eliot’s response. He sighed and put it back on the receiver. He could hear Alex shut off the car, so he walked over to the front door and opened it to see Alex unbuckling his six year old from her car seat. Alex saw him and waved, leaving a now awake Scarlett to hop out of the seat herself and walking over to greet Eliot. 

 

“Hey man, you’re looking better,” Alex clapped Eliot’s uninjured shoulder, “Sorry, she woke up when I turned off the car.”

 

Eliot clasped the younger man’s arm in greeting, “It’s okay, man. Thanks for patching me up,” he looked over to where the six year old was grabbing her baby blanket and a stuffed animal out of the car, “You gonna help her?”

 

Alex turned back, “Shit, Scar, I told you to wait,” he ran back over and grabbed the bag she was trying to pull from the back seat and lifted her up, resting her on his hip before walking back over to Eliot, “I swear she gets her stubbornness from her mom.”

 

Eliot coughed, “Right. Her mom. Not her father at all.”

 

Alex glared at him, but didn’t say anything when Eliot raised an eyebrow, almost daring the younger man to correct him. Scarlett seemed content to be carried until she noticed who was waiting for her on the porch, “Eliot!”  she squealed, worming her way out of her father’s hold and attempting to run up to him.

 

Thankfully, Alex caught the back of her shirt before she got very far, “Slow your roll, Speedy Gonzalez, Eliot’s got some boo boos. None of your normal hug-tackling allowed.”

 

Scarlett’s head quirked to the side, “What about normal people hugs?”

 

Eliot smiled and ignored the pain it caused him to squat down and hold his arms out to her, “Always, darlin’.”

 

She squealed and ran up to him, stopping short of throwing all of her weight against him, but still throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tight. He smiled and hugged her back, placing a quick kiss in her red curly hair, just holding her for a moment. There was always something about hugging this little girl that soothed a bit of his soul; reminded him of why he’d started on the path his life took. Reminded him of why he’d done so many of the things he’d done. Sure, many of them had been for selfish reasons, but it’d all started from wanting to protect and defend. He started out with the desire to do what he had to so little girls like Scarlett could stay little girls longer.

 

Sometimes it was just nice to be reminded of that notion. 

 

“Hey there, angel,” he patted her back and pulled away after one last squeeze, “You been good for your momma and dad? Been keeping up your studies?”

 

She nodded vigorously, “Uh huh. I’ve been good. Just like I promised.”

 

He smiled and stood up, biting his lip against the pain, “Alright well, come on inside and you can tell me all about it while we wait for your mom.”

 

Scarlett nodded and ran inside ahead of him, disappearing somewhere in the house as Alex approached Eliot.

 

“Let me look over you one last time, then I’ve gotta hit the road.”

 

************

After Alex looked him over and demanded Eliot take it easy before he left, Eliot decided it was too nice a day to be inside, so he grabbed his book, dragged Scarlett out into the back yard and plopped his happy ass down in the hammock. Scarlett began practicing her gymnastics on the trampoline and dancing about the grassy yard, occasionally stopping to talk to Eliot for a few moments about whatever caught her attention. It was very… domestic, but for once Eliot didn't mind in the least. He felt a bit of peace, not enough to completely overshadow his normal inner turmoil, but enough that he felt okay to relax and enjoy the happiness he felt.

 

After about an hour, Scarlett came skipping up to him, a bit short of breath.

 

“Hey Eliot,” she sing songed.

 

He put his book down and turned his attention to her, “Hey, sugar, what’s up?”

 

She grinned and batted her eyelashes at him, “Can I pretty please lay in the hammock with you?”

 

He chuckled and nodded, holding out his arm to her, “Of course, sweetheart, come on up.”

 

Scarlett grinned and climbed in the hammock with his help, gently laying against his side with a blanket between them to give his ribs some cushion, using his shoulder as a pillow. 

 

She sighed happily and closed her eyes, “I'm really happy you're here, Eliot, and that you're okay.”

 

“Well thank you, darlin’”

 

She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and laid her arm across his chest, “I don't think my dad wants me anymore,” she murmured against his shoulder, hiding her face.

 

Eliot rubbed her back, “Why would you say that, darlin? Your daddy loves you.”

 

She made a face, “I know that, but he never wants me around anymore. Even when I  am there we barely do anything together and I always end up coming back to mom early,” she shrugged and he felt a wet spot forming against his shoulder.

 

“Oh, darlin’, don't cry,” he put his book down and wrapped both of his arms around her, holding her close, “I don't know what’s going on in your dad’s head, but I know he loves you more than anything.”

 

Scarlett hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck, “I don't want you to leave, Eliot.”

 

He pulled back and looked down at her, “Okay, now you're confusing me. Who told you I'm going anywhere? Is that what this is about, or your daddy being stupid?”

 

Scarlett chuckled and leaned back to look at him, her eyes still glistening with tears, “But you always leave, Eliot. And now my daddy keeps leaving me, too.”

 

“Oh, angel, come ‘ere,” he pulled her back to his chest, “I know I'm not around a lot. That's got nothin’ to do with you or your mom and everything to do with me and my job. I stay away to keep you and the people I care about safe. I can't promise you I'll stay forever, but I can promise you that I do love you and I want you and your momma to be happy. I do plan on being around for a bit longer, at least until I'm all healed up. So you and me got a little time,” he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “As far as your daddy, I think you best tell him how you're feeling. A problem can't be fixed if you don't know about it.”

 

Scarlett harrumphed, “Can't you talk to him for me? He's scared of you.”

 

Eliot chuckled and gently ran a hand over her hair, “I dunno, sweetheart, I think your mom's the scary one.” 

 

The little girl giggled and he continued, smiling at her, “I'll let him know we had this talk, but you really do gotta talk to him, okay?”

 

Scarlett nodded and laid her head on his shoulder and her hand on his heart, “I love you, Eliot.”

 

He smiled and hugged her, “I love you too, Scarface.”

 

Scarlett snuggled back down, so he picked up his book, intending to read, but the more he tried, the heavier his eyelids got. When Scarlett’s breathing evened out, he lost his battle and succumbed to sleep himself.

  
  
  


_ “Eliot!” _

 

A harsh cry and a bark cut into Eliot’s slumber, waking him with a start. I took him a second to realize he was still in the hammock with Scarlett still fast asleep against his shoulder.

 

“ELIOT! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” Ellie’s voice called out again from somewhere inside the house.

 

“Back here!” He answered, his yell startling Scarlett awake.

 

Footsteps thundered towards them and the back door was thrown open, releasing a dog and revealing a frazzled looking Ellie.

 

“Oh thank heavens!” she ran over and grabbed a drowsy (And somewhat confused) Scarlett in a hug, “I had my phone off and only got the messages when I got back. When I didn’t hear you two in the house…”

 

Eliot stretched as she lifted her grumbling child from the hammock, “Sorry darlin’. Didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

 

Scarlett harrumphed, “I did. And I’m still tired,” she squirmed her way out of her mother’s grasp and blew a kiss to Eliot before turning towards the house, “I’m going back to sleep in my bed.”

 

Ellie shook her head and sighed, watching her daughter take the dog with her and shut the back door behind them, “I swear that girl…”

 

Eliot chuckled and grabbed Ellie’s hand, “She’s something alright,” He kissed her fingers, “You still mad at me?”

 

Ellie sighed and motioned for him to make room for her. It was a tight squeeze, but Eliot made it work without causing himself too much discomfort, “No. Yes. Kinda,” she laid her head on his shoulder and her hand over his heart, much like her daughter had just done, “I worry about you. You spend all this time protecting everyone, but no one ever protects you and you’re not invincible and it scares me. Especially when I’m reminded. When I’m scared I lash out with anger and sarcasm and that’s not fair to you…” She propped herself up so she could look at him, “I’m sorry, I’m working on it.”

 

Eliot gave her a small smile and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “That’s okay, Elle. I could stand to be less of an ass myself. I understand where you’re coming from,” he chuckled, “I guess I’m just not used to being the one looked after. You’ll have to let me know when I’m doing it wrong.”

 

She smiled at him and kissed his nose, “I love you, you idiot.”

 

He smiled and captured her lips, holding her close. He intended for the kiss to be simple and sweet, but Ellie once again had other plans, pressing her lips firmly against his, almost desperate, her mouth opening just slightly, as if she was trying to convey a message to him through kiss alone.

 

And somehow he understood loud and clear. 

 

He pulled her close with one arm, his other hand tangling in her hair, holding her close as he returned her passion. His grip tightened and she let out a soft moan. Eliot smiled, his tongue teasing her bottom lip. Her lips parted, her tongue poking out to meet his tentatively. 

 

He slid his arm down her back and rested his hand on the curve of her spine, pulling her just a bit closer. She squealed and pulled her head back a bit, “Careful, hot stuff.”

 

Eliot groaned and put an arm over his face, “You're killing me here.”

 

She giggled and him and leaned over to nibble on his jaw, “Likely story. The great Eliot Spencer taken out by blue balls. That’ll be the day.”

 

He moved his arm to glare at her and she just grinned unrepentantly at him, so he reached down and slapped her round bottom with a resounding  _ smack _ .

 

She squeaked in surprise, then unexpectedly moaned in pleasure. After she realized what sound she made her face flushed bright red and she hid her face in Eliot's shoulder in embarrassment.

 

A slow grin spread across Eliot's face, “Oh you like that, huh?”

 

She groaned and buried her face farther against him, “Shut up.”

 

He chuckled and gently ran his hand over the spot he just smacked, earning a squeal and causing her to squirm, “Hmm… I don't think so.”

 

She lifted her head to glare at him and he just laughed at her again, “Not fun being on the receiving end, is it?”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him, “You're an ass.”

 

He shrugged, nonplussed, “Tell me something new.”

 

She rolled her eyes at him and he responded with another little smack, causing her to squeal again. She growled and pushed herself up away from him, “Dammit Eliot!” She rolled out of the hammock and stood glaring at him with her arms crossed, “Fine! You win! Get your horny ass upstairs, asshole.”

 

Eliot raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms as well, “Hmm. I dunno.”

 

She raised an eyebrow at him. 

 

He shrugged and put his hands behind his head, “You know, there is still a child in the house.”

 

She shrugged, “I figure we got an hour.”

 

Eliot snorted, “Probably more like twenty minutes.” 

 

She waggled her eyebrows at him, “Better than nothing, right?”

 

Eliot laughed at her and sat up in the hammock, “You're crazy, you know that?”

 

She walked forward and pecked his lips, “You love it.”

 

He reached out and pulled her in for another quick kiss, “I love  _ you _ .”

 

She grinned, “I know.” 

 

She turned away from him, took a few steps then looked back, smirking at him over her shoulder and crooked her finger at him before sauntering towards the house. He chuckled and shook his head at her Star Wars reference, sliding his feet down out of the hammock and following behind her. She kept a few steps ahead of him until they reached the porch and she turned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, standing on her toes to kiss his nose. He smiled, kissing her lips before grabbing her ass and pulling her close. 

 

She squealed and giggled, pulling back to kiss his his nose again, “Come on, cowboy. Upstairs.”

 

He squeezed her bottom one last time then let her lead the way, wishing he could just pick her up and carry her to her bedroom. His one consolation, though, was getting to watch her ass, her hips swaying seductively, as she led him up the stairs to her bedroom. She was obviously playing it up for him, but he wasn’t about to stop her.

 

She led him to her bedroom, opening the door and motioning him in before she moved across the hall to crack open the door and check on her daughter. Seemingly satisfied, she closed the door and came back over to him, placing her hand on his chest and pushing him backwards into her bed.

 

He smirked down at her, somehow managing to maintain his balance and dignity as he let himself be pushed into the room. Ellie gave him one last little push towards her bed and used her foot to deftly close the door behind her without turning away from him. He backed up until his knees hit the bed, then sat down on the soft surface, waiting to see what Ellie would do next.

 

She reached behind her to lock the door and gave him a coy smirk, “You sure about this, cowboy?”

 

Eliot narrowed his eyes at her and crooked a finger at her, “Ellie, so help me God, if you don't get your ass over here, I'm going to take your ass right there against the door… injuries be damned.”

 

Ellie grinned at him and skipped over to the bed, straddling his lap and pulling him in for a fiery kiss. He grabbed her bottom with both hands, pulling her firmly into his lap and eliciting a small squeak from her. For the first time, she didn’t jerk away, just melted into him, tangling her hands in his long hair. He couldn’t help but smile against her lips, letting one hand slowly trail up her spine while the other stayed on her shapely ass, keeping her firmly in place. 

 

She let out a shiver and ground her hips down against his, eliciting a moan from him as well. He placed his hands firmly on her waist and pulled her back from him, just a bit, “Clothes, off. Now.”

 

She playfully pouted and shook her head at him before nibbling her way along his jaw to suck on his earlobe and breathe gently in his ear, “So needy and demanding.”

 

His hands tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough so she could really feel the strength of his grip, “Take ‘em off, or I’ll rip ‘em off.”

 

She bit her lip to hold back a giggle, “Add impatient to that list.”

 

Eliot let go over her waist with his uninjured hand and used it to smack her firmly on the butt. She moaned out, burying her face against his shoulder, her lower body convulsing against him, “Wanna run that by me again?”

 

She whimpered a little and dropped her hands from his hair, letting her arms rest on his shoulders, “Fine, you win… you asshole.”

 

He couldn’t help but chuckle at her indignation before running his hands under her shirt and up her sides, his thumbs catching the fabric and pulling it up as he went. He could feel chills spreading along her skin as he pulled her shirt over her head. She dutifully held her arms up, allowing him to pull the fabric over her head and toss it somewhere in the room. He leaned back a bit to take her in. Her bra was a lacy blue number that looked amazing against her smooth pale skin. A small barbell pierced her belly button, a black rose dangling from the bottom. He ran his hands down the her sides, letting his fingers trace over the very faint stretch marks just above her hips. 

 

He smiled at her and trailed his fingertips around to her back and up her spine, “So beautiful.”

 

Ellie smiled at him her cheeks flushed, “Suck up.”

 

Eliot chuckled and deftly unhooked her bra, pulling the the straps down her arms and throwing the material aside. 

 

“I’m choosing to ignore that,” he murmured, cupping her shapely breasts and toying with the soft flesh of her nipples, “Now do you really really wanna talk right now?”

 

She shook her head, her breath coming in shorter breaths, her hands clenching in the fabric on his shoulders. He smiled and leaned in, taking one of her nipples into his mouth, gently sucking on the soft flesh. She moaned, holding his head close as he continued his exploration of her soft skin. After a moment he switched attention from one breast to the other, using his hand to knead the flesh his mouth wasn’t on. 

 

Ellie ran her hands down his chest, clenching her hands in the fabric at the hem, the fabric bunching up in her fists as she started tugging the fabric up his torso. He broke away from her just long enough to allow her to pull the fabric off of his body before pulling her body back, this time nibbling his way along her collarbone and up her neck. One of her hands tightened in his hair, holding his head close to her, the other gripping his back, her nails digging into the skin beneath his healing injuries. 

 

Eliot ran his hand down her sides, down to her hips which were now almost steadily grinding against him. He thanked whatever had possessed Ellie when she was getting dressed this morning; she was wearing  _ only _ a pair of black workout leggings. He hadn’t brought it up, but it’d been pretty obvious to him all day that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. Not that he cared at this moment, it actually worked in his favor.

 

Eliot grabbed her ass again and quickly flipped her over so she was laying on her back and he stood above her. She let out a squeal and sprawled out on the bed. Eliot leaned down and kissed a trail from her neck down the center of her torso all the way down to her pant line. He hooked his hands in her leggings began tugging them down her legs, continuing his trail of kisses down the newly exposed skin. He stopped just above the patch of curls  at the junction between her legs and leaned back to pull her leggings all the way off. 

 

Once she was completely nude, he stood back and admired her naked form. Sure, he’d seen her nude before, Ellie wasn’t exactly shy about nudity, but there was something to be said about seeing her naked in this context. She lay with her weight on her forearms and her legs bent and opened just so. 

 

“Like what you see, pretty boy?” she grinned, tracing her finger along the underside of one breast, “I’m feeling awful underdressed.”

 

He shook his head at her and untied the drawstring on his loose sweatpants. He stuck his thumbs in the elastic of his waistband, catching Ellie staring at the very obvious tent in the loose material, “It seems you like what you see… I guess I should catch up.”

 

He pulled the material over his aching cock and shoved the fabric down his legs as Ellie rolled over onto her stomach and reached down to help him pull the leg off over his boot. He managed to get out of the offending material without falling over. Thankfully, he had foregone underwear as well.

 

As soon as he was free, Ellie sat back on her haunches and looked him over, biting her lip and growling. He chuckled and climbed into the bed, laying flat and pulling her over him so she was straddling his hips. 

 

“Eliot, you should just walk around like this,” she said, leaning down and licking one of the old scars he had along his hip from a knife fight . She moved on from that one to kiss her way down to another scar on his thigh he’d gotten from a stray bullet when he was still in the service, “Yup. I’ve decided, you should be naked more often.”

 

He chuckled, his uninjured hand cupping her head as she explored his body, taking time to examine each of the numerous scars he carried. He just watched her, leaving her to her exploration, enjoying the feeling of her gentle nips, licks, and kisses against the rougher parts of his skin. After a moment, she made it back up to his hips, lingering on a particularly nasty scar on his lower left side. 

 

She ran her fingers over the raised skin gently and looked up at him through her lashes, “I remember when you got this one.”

 

He chuckled and ran his hand through her hair, “Rome. When you got made by that smuggler,” he bit his lip and ran a finger over hers, “Good fight. Shoulda known he’d have a knife. Totally worth it.”

 

She shook her head, “Of course what you remember is the fight.” 

 

Eliot chuckled, tilting her chin up so he could look into her icy blue eyes, “I also remember playing your jealous boyfriend… and how jealous Moreau  _ actually _ was…” he smirked and tugged her up so he could kiss her, “That was also the first time you kissed me.”

 

She snorted and settled so she was flush against him, “Uhm, no. You started it. I finished. Besides, it was a con, con kisses don’t count,” she laced her hands back into his hair, nibbling on his jaw again.

 

He raised and eyebrow at her and ran his hands along her spine , “Really? You wanna argue about who kissed who right now?”

 

She sat up, placing her hands on his chest, smirking down at him, “Not really. What I really want is to ride you into the sunset.”

 

He shook his head at her and put his hands on her hips, “What’s stopping you sweetheart?”

 

She wiggled her hips against his lower stomach, “Just making sure you can keep up, old man.”

 

He spanked her,  _ hard _ .

 

She squealed and fell forward against him, her hips grinding down against him. He could feel just how wet she was against him, absolutely dripping with her arousal at this point.

 

“Ellie, Imma need you to shut up and behave for once in your life,” he ran his hand gently over the red area on her ass, “And do what I tell you, okay?”

 

She nodded and turned her head to lick she shell of his ear, “Mmm, I like it when you get all commanding in bed.”

 

He smiled at her and ran his hand up her spine then back down to her hips, “Good. Now I want to be inside of you. You gonna argue or help me out with that?”

 

She bit his earlobe, “So impatient,” she pushed herself up and sat back on her haunches, scooting down and hovering so her entrance was just above his painfully hard cock, “But I guess I’ll help you out.”

 

He grabbed her hips, trying to hold back his smile as he gripped her flesh, guiding her as she led his cock inside her, slowly lowering her hips and taking him all the way to the hilt. When her hips were flush against his, she planted her hands firmly on his chest, moaning out in pleasure. His grip tightened and he couldn’t help a small upward thrust of his hips, biting his lip. She made eye contact with him, her eyes smouldering as she began moving her hips up and down, riding his cock.

 

Eliot watched her, letting her set the rhythm, letting pleasure wash over him and watching her expressive features as she rode him. After a few strokes, she leaned back, placing her hands on his calves, giving herself better leverage and making her inner muscles clench tighter around him. He moaned out, taking her hips in his hands and pulsing his hips up in time with her.

 

“Oh gods, Eliot,” she moaned out, “Yes. That feels amazing.”

 

He smiled and ran his hands along her sides, “Mmhmm. Shit, sweetheart. You feel amazing.”

 

She smirked down at him, clenching her inner muscles, speeding up her thrusts a little. He groaned and decided that two could play that game. He moved his hand so he could rub her clit with his thumb. She squeaked again and he could feel her inner muscles clench around him. 

 

“Fuuccckkk,” her grip on his calves tightened to an almost painful level. She bit her lip and threw her head back, her hair tickling his legs as her whole lower body tensed up. Her thrusts were starting to get sloppy and more erratic. Eliot could tell she was getting close, and honestly, so was he.

 

He licked his lips and pressed harder on her clit, his hips thrusting up to meet her strokes. She squealed and leaned forward again, planting her hands on his shoulders. He smiled up at her, using his free hand to pull her down for a quick, sloppy kiss. 

 

“God, Eliot, you feel so good,” She moaned against his mouth.

 

“Dammit Ellie,” He nibbled on her jaw, “You always talk this much in bed?”

 

She laughed, “Only when I’m not on the grift.”

 

He snorted and let go of her head, instead reaching down to grab her ass and help move her hips, “That’s reassuring”

 

She grinned down at him, “I love you Eliot, I mean it.”

 

He smiled up at her, “Love you too, darlin’.”

 

She smiled down at him, leaning down to kiss him again as she continued to ride his cock. It took only a few more strokes before her body seized up around him and she squealed out his name as an orgasm overtook her. Two more thrusts and he joined her, one hand clenched tightly around her hip, his head thrown back against the pillows. 

 

After a moment, Ellie draped herself over him, letting out a happy sigh, her torso flush against his as they both panted, trying to catch their breath as they came back down to earth. Eliot ran a lazy hand up and down her spine, using the other to shove her hair out of his face. She just rubbed against him, humming like a contented kitten. 

 

After a moment she tensed and rolled off of him, sitting upright, “Shit Eliot, I’m sorry, I forgot, are you okay?”

 

He rolled his eyes at her and laughed, “Ellie, I am more than okay,” he held his arm out to her, “Get back down here and cuddle, dammit.”

 

She bit her lip, hiding her mouth behind her hand for a moment, “As long as I didn’t hurt you.”

 

He just shook his head, “I’m fine, worrywort.”

  
She smiled and laid back down against his side, using his shoulder as a pillow, draping one of her legs over both of his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS CHAPTER WAS SO LONG WINDED AND HARD TO GET OUT.  
> Thank you to everyone who's bearing with me and everyone who's commented lol  
> I'm posting this now 'cause my internet could go out at any minute, so sorry if there's any heinous errors.


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